Portable hydrogen supplemental system and method for lowering particulate matter and other emissions in diesel engines at idle

ABSTRACT

A portable on-demand hydrogen supplemental system is provided for producing hydrogen gas and injecting the hydrogen gas into the air intake of internal combustion engines for the purpose of increasing the combustion efficiency in the combustion chamber and lowering particulate emissions at idle. Hydrogen increases the laminar flame speed of diesel fuels, thus increasing combustion efficiency. Hydrogen and oxygen is produced by an electrolyzer from nonelectrolyte water in a nonelectrolyte water tank. The hydrogen gas is passed through a hydrogen gas collector. Nonelectrolyte water mixed with the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen gas collector is passed back thru the tank for distribution and water preservation. The system utilizes an onboard diagnostic (OBD) interface in communication with the vehicle&#39;s OBD terminal, to regulate power to the system so that hydrogen production for the engine is adjusted based on the RPM level and operation conditions of the vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 14/303,184, filed Jun. 12, 2014,now pending, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser.No. 13/922,351, filed Jun. 20, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,453,457, whichis a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 13/842,102, filed Mar. 15,2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,399,946, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. Ser. No. 13/224,338, filed Sep. 2, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,449,754, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 12/790,398,filed May 28, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,722, which claims priorityto U.S. Provisional application No. 61/313,919, filed Mar. 15, 2010, theentire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hydrogen generation devices, moreparticularly, to a hydrogen supplemental system and a method forincreasing combustion efficiency in the combustion chamber of diesel orother internal combustion engines and lowering particulate matter andother emissions at idle.

Background Information

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat ofcompression to initiate ignition and burn the fuel that has beeninjected into the combustion chamber of the engine. The diesel enginehas a higher thermal efficiency of any standard internal or externalcombustion engine due to its high compression ratio. Low-speed dieselengines as used in ships and other applications where overall engineweight is unimportant may have a thermal efficiency that exceedsapproximately 50%. When in an idle state, a vehicle's main propulsionengine continues to operate while the vehicle is stopped. Idling iscommon in traffic conditions, especially during urban driving, such asat traffic lights or in stop-and-go driving during traffic congestion.However, idling periods in traffic are relatively short. There is moreconcern over long periods of idling of heavy-duty diesel engines whilethe vehicle is parked and not in active state. These long periods ofidling have an adverse environmental impact and are a source ofsignificant pollution and often unnecessary fuel consumption.

The idling periods in traffic cause vehicles to emit significant amountsof pollution including, for example, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatileorganic compounds (VOCs) which contribute to the formation of ozonesmog; poisonous carbon monoxide; and particulate matter (PM) whichcontributes to asthma, heart disease, lung damage, and cancer. Recently,an effort has been made to reduce the amount of time that engines spendidling mainly due to fuel economy and emissions concerns, although someengines can also be damaged if kept idling for extended periods.

A major source of idle emissions are long-haul trucks, which areroutinely idled overnight, mainly to provide cab heating and airconditioning. In addition to heat and air conditioning, truckaccessories such as stereos, short distance radio communication systemssuch as citizen band radios (CBs), interior lights, televisions,computers and refrigerators demand power and can motivate idling even ifclimate control via the heating and air conditioning is unnecessary. Inextreme cases, up to 6 kW of peak electrical power demand may be neededif multiple accessories are used at once.

Another significant source of diesel idle emissions can be railwaylocomotives. Unlike trucks, most locomotive engines do not useanti-freeze in their cooling systems. Thus, locomotives must idle theirengines when the temperature drops below about 4° C. (40° F.) to preventfreezing of engine cooling water, thickening of engine oil and fuel andto maintain battery charge. At temperatures above 4° C., locomotives mayidle to maintain a readily available engine, and/or to maintaincomfortable temperatures inside the operator cab.

In yet another example, motor coach buses are another vehicle categorythat can experience long periods of idling of their main propulsionengine. This is primarily to maintain a comfortable interior compartmentfor passengers (heat or air conditioning). While not as numerous astrucks, coaches have attracted attention because, due to their largeinterior compartment, maintaining a comfortable interior temperaturerequires substantially more idling time than the typical long-haul truckor personal passenger vehicle.

Diesel engines and gasoline engines run more efficiently when they areoperated under-load and at appropriate operating temperatures. They arehighly inefficient at idle. A diesel engine at idle creates adisproportionately larger amount of harmful emissions, including CO, NOxand PM, and waste a greater amount of fuel than operation at load. Theparticulates have also been reported to be much smaller (20 nm) thanthose at load (60 nm).

Although there is an understanding that hydrogen could be a substitutefor gasoline in internal combustion engines, the conventional systemsimplementing the use of hydrogen typically produces the hydrogen andoxygen in a combined gas stream. The hydrogen and oxygen in the combinedhydrogen and oxygen gas stream are not separated from each other and areknown as HHO or Brown's gas. The use of HHO or Brown's gas in the caseof modern gasoline powered vehicles is problematic for several reasonsincluding interference with modern anti-pollution apparatus.Specifically the extra oxygen in the combined hydrogen and oxygen gasstream is detected by the vehicle's oxygen sensor which communicatesthis extra oxygen level to an on-board computer, namely, ElectronicControl Unit (ECU) of the vehicle. The ECU then makes adjustments basedon this detection including increasing the amount of gasoline beinginjected, thereby defeating any supposed fuel savings.

Diesel exhaust is composed of two phases: gas and particles, and bothphases contribute to a significant health risk in human beings. The gasphase is composed of many of the urban hazardous air pollutants, such asacetaldehyde, acrolein, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde andpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The particle phase also has manydifferent types of particles that can be classified by size orcomposition. The size of diesel particulates that are of greatest healthconcern are those that are in the categories of fine, and ultrafineparticles. The composition of these fine and ultrafine particles may becomposed of elemental carbon with adsorbed compounds such as organiccompounds, sulfate, nitrate, metals and other trace elements. Althoughthe majority of the emissions from diesel engines are in the combustionprocess itself, most of the particulate emissions are the result ofincomplete combustion. This is because all of the fuel injected into thecombustion chamber is not burned. As a result, unburned particulates andother emissions are inherent in diesel engines. Diesel exhaust isemitted from a broad range of diesel engines; the on-road diesel enginesof trucks, buses and cars and the off-road diesel engines that includelocomotives, marine vessels and heavy duty equipment.

The current technology to reduce particulate matter is eitherparticulate exhaust filters or exhaust systems that attempt to burn theparticulate matter once it reaches the exhaust. The use of exhaustfilters require active monitoring to determine whether the exhaustfilters have reached their maximum capacity.

Further, the exhaust systems that burn the particulate matter aretypically complex and expensive system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable and compact, on-demandhydrogen supplemental system and a method for producing hydrogen gas andmonitoring and controlling the amount of hydrogen being produced andinjected into the air intake of internal combustion engines,particularly for diesel engines for the purpose of causing a morecomplete combustion of the fuel in the combustion chamber. The systemand method reduces fuel consumption and emissions of diesel or otherinternal combustion engines at idle and at operating conditions.

Hydrogen and oxygen are produced by an electrolyzer at low temperaturesand pressure from nonelectrolyte water in a nonelectrolyte water tank.The hydrogen gas is passed through a hydrogen gas collector.Nonelectrolyte water mixed with the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen gascollector is passed back thru the nonelectrolyte water tank fordistribution and water preservation. The hydrogen gas and the oxygen gastravel in separate directions, therefore the gases are kept separate. Inthe case of most internal combustion engines, only the hydrogen gas isdirected to the air intake of the engine while the oxygen gas is ventedto the atmosphere

Hydrogen has a high specific energy, high flame propagation speed andwide range of flammability and as such offers rich potential to promotecombustion efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions in diesel fuel andother types of hydrocarbon-based fuels.

Hydrogen is mixed with the air that is used for combustion. Thefundamental combustion parameter that compactly characterizes andquantifies the effects of hydrogen addition is the laminar flame speed,which embodies information about the exothermicity, reactivity anddiffusivity of the resulting mixture.

To date, experiments have been conducted for the hydrocarbon fuelsmethylcyclohexane, toluene, decalin, propane and kerosene. For eachfuel, flame speed data were measured under various conditions. Resultsshow a surprising increase in laminar flame speed with added hydrogen.In some cases the results were almost linear. The exact nature of thehydrogen-enhanced burning is seen to depend on the fuel volatility.Under some conditions, hydrogen addition was observed to increase thehydrocarbon burning rate by more than a factor of two.

The flame speed increase for many fuels extends to normal and elevatedpressures.

With this increase in flame speed, combustion efficiency and particulatematter emissions can also be reduced.

The system can be powered by the vehicles alternator, a stand-alonebattery, waste heat or solar energy. The system utilizes an enginesensor or an onboard diagnostic (OBD) interface in communication withthe vehicle's OBD terminal or other electronic controller, to regulatepower to the system and monitor the RPM levels of the engine and theon-demand hydrogen supplemental system to supply hydrogen gas at theengine at specific RPM levels as determined by the vehicle's OBDterminal. Therefore, hydrogen production for the engine is controlledwhen at idle and at other operating conditions. As the hydrogen gas isproduced it is immediately consumed by the engine. No hydrogen is storedon, in or around the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and a better understanding of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of exampleembodiments and the claims when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, all forming a part of the disclosure of this invention. Whilethe foregoing and following written and illustrated disclosure focuseson disclosing example embodiments of the invention, it should be clearlyunderstood that the same is by way of illustration and example only andthe invention is not limited thereto, wherein in the following briefdescription of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a detailed drawing of a front view of a portable hydrogensupplemental system showing a water tank and other components of aninterior housing design according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed drawing of a bottom side view of the portablehydrogen supplemental system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed drawing of a rear side view of the portablehydrogen supplemental system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a sub-housingassembly, housing the control circuit and other electrical components ofthe portable hydrogen supplemental system, according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation and details of a PEMelectrolyzer according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic showing a portable hydrogen supplemental systeminstalled in a typical vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an embodiment of a control circuit of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an internal combustion engine showing the normalcombustion characteristics of the engine.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an embodiment of an internal combustion enginereceiving hydrogen from the portable hydrogen supplemental system,depicting enhance combustion due to the presence of hydrogen in thecombustion chamber according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for controlling theproduction of hydrogen within the hydrogen supplemental system based onRPM data in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a screenshot of a software table providing voltage-to-RPMinformation in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention as will be described in greater detail belowprovides an apparatus, method and system, particularly, for example, ahydrogen supplemental system used to increase the fuel efficiency andreduce carbon emissions for internal combustion engines. The presentinvention provides various embodiments as described below. However itshould be noted that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described herein, but could extend to other embodiments aswould be known or as would become known to those skilled in the art.

Various components of a portable hydrogen supplemental system 1 arediscussed below with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5. The presentinvention as shown in FIG. 1 provides the portable hydrogen supplementalsystem 1 which includes a housing unit 2 as outlined via the dashed lineshown, that can be secured in the trunk or other flat surface of avehicle by mounting brackets and fastening units. Inside the housingunit 2 are an electrolyzer 5 and a nonelectrolyte water tank 6positioned above the electrolyzer 5. The nonelectrolyte water tank 6 isconfigured to receive nonelectrolyte water 9 therein from an externalwater source (not shown) via an external water supply connector 10, forsupplying the nonelectrolyte water 9 to the electrolyzer 5. Thenonelectrolyte water tank 6 is arranged above the electrolyzer 5, insuch a manner as to supply the nonelectrolyte water 9 to theelectrolyzer 5 by gravity. The nonelectrolyte water tank 6 is supportedin the housing unit 2 above the electrolyzer 5 by support 3. The housingunit 2 further includes a separate sub-housing assembly 4 for housingelectrical components of the portable hydrogen supplemental system 1.The housing unit 2 is designed to be readily removable from the vehicle.

The nonelectrolyte water tank 6 includes a cover covering a top surfaceof the nonelectrolyte water tank 6, the cover including a fill spout 12and spout cover 13 at a top portion thereof for receiving nonelectrolytewater 9 in the nonelectrolyte water tank 6 and filling thenonelectrolyte water tank 6, and a water supply fitting 13 (as shown inFIG. 2) positioned on a rear side of the nonelectrolyte water tank 6connected to a tube or other supply means 14 that is in turn connectedto a water inlet fitting 15 on a pump device 16 for pumping thenonelectrolyte water 9 into the electrolyzer 5. It should be noted thatthe pump device 16 is provided to maintain a predetermined waterpressure of the nonelectrolyte water 9 being supplied to theelectrolyzer 5. However, if the water pressure is not an issue, the pumpdevice 16 is an optional element. Nonelectrolyte water 9 is thensupplied to the electrolyzer 5 by a tube or other supply 18 connected tothe electrolyzer 5 via a connector means 20. The electrolyzer 5decomposes nonelectrolyte water 9 into hydrogen gas H₂ and oxygen gas O₂when received from the nonelectrolyte water tank 6. The electrolyzer 5also includes a hydrogen gas outlet fitting 22 (as depicted in FIG. 2)connected via tubes or additional supply means 23 and a fitting 24, to ahydrogen gas collector 25 formed at a rear side of the nonelectrolytewater tank 6. Details of the hydrogen gas collector 25 will be discussedbelow with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8A-8D. Hydrogen gas collected withinthe hydrogen gas collector 25 is disbursed to the internal combustionengine (i.e., a diesel engine) via a hydrogen outlet fitting 26 and asupply means or other tubing 27, to a hydrogen outlet 28 disposed at aperimeter of the portable hydrogen supplemental system 1. For example,as shown in FIG. 1, according to one embodiment, the hydrogen outlet 28may be formed below the pump device 16. Oxygen gas and water mixturegenerated from the electrolyzer 5 is sent to the nonelectrolyte watertank 6 via an oxygen outlet fitting 29 of the electrolyzer 5 and asupply means or other tubing 30 to a tank fitting 30 a as shown in FIG.3.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the nonelectrolyte water tank 6 furtherincludes a float assembly 31 configured to perform a floating operationindicative of a level of the nonelectrolyte water 9 within thenonelectrolyte water tank 6. Details of the operation of the floatassembly 31 will be discussed below with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. Awater level sensor 32 is also provided at a bottom surface of thenonelectrolyte water tank 6, and is configured to magneticallycommunicate with the float assembly 31, to determine the level of thenonelectrolyte water 9.

A temperature sensor may also be provided. The temperature sensor may bemounted within the nonelectrolyte water tank 6 or any suitable locationwithin the housing 2 and be configured to sense a temperature of thenonelectrolyte water 9. A heater may further be provided along a surfaceof the electrolyzer 5, mounted to a sub-housing assembly or any othersuitable location within the housing 2, and configured to heat thenonelectrolyte water 9 when it is detected via the temperature sensorthat the nonelectrolyte water 9 has dropped below a predeterminetemperature (e.g., 32 degrees). The nonelectrolyte water tank 6 may alsoinclude a tank vent port (not shown) for releasing oxygen gas within thenonelectrolyte water tank 6 via a tube or other venting means (e.g., inthe fill spout cover 12 a, for example).

In FIG. 4, a main power board 33 is disposed beneath the electrolyzer 5in the separate sub-housing assembly 4, for example, of the system 1 andconfigured to supply power to the system 1 using power received viapower terminals 36 and 37 connected to the main power board 33 vianegative and positive electrical wiring 38 and 39. Additional connectors40 a and 40 b are provided for connecting other electrical components ofthe system 1 thereto (e.g., an on-board diagnostic (OBD) interface).Further, power terminals 36 and 37 are connected to a vehicle batteryfor supplying power to the system 1. The sub-housing assembly 4 includesthrough-holes 41 for dissipating heat and cooling components of the mainpower board 33.

An optional heat sink may also be provided on the main power board 33for dissipating heat and cooling components of the main power board 33.Optional support holes 42 are also provided and configured to receivefastening units (e.g., screws) therein for fastening the sub-housingassembly 4 to the housing unit 2 (i.e., the main housing unit).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the electrolyzer 5 is operated in reverse of afuel cell (which is commonly known to produce electricity) to producehydrogen and oxygen gases. Thus, the electrolyzer 5 essentially operatesto decompose nonelectrolyte water 9 into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas andis hereinafter referred to as an electrolyzer 5. Nonelectrolyte water 9fills the electrolyzer 5 from the nonelectrolyte water tank 6 and when avoltage, having positive and negative terminals, is placed across theelectrolyzer 5 supplied from the main power board 33, hydrogen andoxygen gases are produced, at different outlets of the electrolyzer 5.

Referring to FIG. 3, during operation of the electrolyzer 5, an oxygengas and water mixture is generated in the electrolyzer 5 and releasedfrom the oxygen gas outlet fitting 29, through the supply means 30 andinto the nonelectrolyte water tank 6 by way of tank fitting 30 a.Further, hydrogen gas is generated in the electrolyzer 5 and supplied tothe hydrogen gas collector 25. A small amount of nonelectrolyte water 9will exit from the hydrogen gas outlet fitting 22 as the hydrogen gas isproduced. The hydrogen gas collector 25 is configured to collect thehydrogen gas and the nonelectrolyte water 9 outputted from theelectrolyzer 5. Since the oxygen gas and water mixture is releasedthrough the supply means 30 into the nonelectrolyte water tank 6, anynonelectrolyte water 9 of the oxygen gas and water mixture is returnedback to the nonelectrolyte water tank 6. Further, any nonelectrolytewater 9 exiting from the hydrogen gas outlet fitting 22 with thehydrogen gas collected in the hydrogen gas collector 25 is returned tothe nonelectrolyte water tank 6 via a water return port 44 of the tank6, for returning the nonelectrolyte water 9 by a tube or other supplymeans 45 and a water tank fitting 46, to the nonelectrolyte water tank 6for water preservation. The nonelectrolyte water 9 that comes out of thehydrogen outlet fitting 22 and the oxygen outlet fitting 29 duringhydrogen and oxygen production is therefore maintained in thenonelectrolyte water tank 6. The hydrogen gas collector as described inthe Application entitled “Hydrogen Supplemental System for On-DemandHydrogen Generation for Internal Combustion Engines” by Donald Owens maybe implemented within the present system and is therefore incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Based on the configuration of the system 1, the hydrogen gas and theoxygen gas generated in the electrolyzer 5 travel in differentdirections and are therefore kept separate from each other.

According to the invention the electrolyzer 5 can, for example, be aproton exchange membrane or polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM)electrolyzer. A PEM electrolyzer includes a semipermeable membranegenerally made from ionomers and designed to conduct protons while beingimpermeable to gases such as oxygen or hydrogen. This is their essentialfunction when incorporated into a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of aproton exchange membrane electrolyzer or of a proton exchange membraneelectrolyzer: separation of reactants and transport of protons.

As known, an electrolyzer is a device that generates hydrogen and oxygenfrom water through the application of electricity and includes a seriesof plates through which water flows while low voltage direct current isapplied. Electrolyzers split the water into hydrogen and oxygen gases bythe passage of electricity, normally by breaking down compounds intoelements or simpler products.

A PEM electrolyzer 50 is shown in FIG. 5. The PEM electrolyzer 50includes a plurality of layers which are non-liquid layers including atleast two external layers and an internal layer, including externalelectrodes 51 disposed opposite to each other one of which is the anode51 a and the other of which is the cathode 51 b, electrocatalysts 52 aand 52 b disposed respectively on the anode 51 a and the cathode 51 b,and a membrane 53 disposed between the electrocatalysts 52 a and 52 b.The PEM electrolyzer 50 further includes an external circuit 54 whichapplies electrical power to the anode 51 a and the cathode 51 b in amanner such that electrical power in the form of electrons flow from theanode 51 a, along the external circuit 54, to the cathode 51 b andprotons are caused to flow through the membrane 53 from the anode 51 ato the cathode 51 b.

The efficiency of a PEM electrolyzer 50 is a function primarily of itsmembrane and electro-catalyst performance. The membrane 53 includes asolid fluoropolymer which has been chemically altered in part to containsulphonic acid groups, SO₃H, which easily release their hydrogen aspositively-charged atoms or protons H⁺: SO₃≧SO₃ ⁻+H⁺

These ionic or charged forms allow water to penetrate into the membranestructure but not the product gases, namely molecular hydrogen H₂ andoxygen O². The resulting hydrated proton, H₃O⁺, is free to move whereasthe sulphonate ion SO₃ ⁻ remains fixed to the polymer side-chain. Thus,when an electric field is applied across the membrane 53 the hydratedprotons are attracted to the negatively charged electrode, known as thecathode 51 b. Since a moving charge is identical with electric current,the membrane 53 acts as a conductor of electricity. It is said to be aprotonic conductor.

A typical membrane material that is used is called “nafion.” Nafion is aperfluorinated polymer that contains small proportions of sulfonic orcarboxylic ionic functional groups.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, nonelectrolyte water 9 enters theelectrolyzer 5 and is split at the surface of the membrane 53 to formprotons, electrons and gaseous oxygen. The gaseous oxygen leaves theelectrolyzer 5 while the protons move through the membrane 53 under theinfluence of the applied electric field and electrons move through theexternal circuit 54. The protons and electrons combine at the oppositesurface, namely the negatively charged electrode, known as the cathode53 b, to form pure gaseous hydrogen.

As shown in FIG. 6, a vehicle 90 powered by an engine (e.g., a dieselengine) 92 is equipped with the portable hydrogen supplemental system 1.Power is supplied to the portable hydrogen supplemental system 1 by avehicle battery 94 connected to electrical wires 96 a. The electricalcircuit to the portable hydrogen supplemental system 1 includes anon-board diagnostic (OBD) interface 97 in communication with the engine92 via a vehicle OBD terminal 98 (as depicted in FIG. 11), and incommunication with the main power board 33 of the system 1 viaelectrical wires 96 b. The OBD interface 97 completes the electricalcircuit to the portable hydrogen supplemental system 1 when the engine92 is running (e.g., based on the rotational speed of the engine 92).The vehicle OBD terminal 98 is used to perform self-diagnostic of thevehicle. The OBD terminal 98 enables an operator of the vehicle 90 toaccess state of health information for various vehicle sub-systems. Oncepower is supplied to the portable hydrogen supplemental system 1,hydrogen gas H2 flows thru a hydrogen outlet tube 99 connected to thehydrogen outlet 28 of the housing unit 2 to an air intake 100 of thevehicle's engine 92 and traveling into a combustion chamber 102 as shownin FIG. 9.

In some embodiments, oxygen gas O₂ (as depicted in FIG. 5) is returnedto the nonelectrolyte water tank 6 via the oxygen outlet fitting 29 ofthe electrolyzer 5 and a supply means or other tubing 30 to tank fitting30 a as shown in FIG. 3.

Optionally, the oxygen gas may be released into the atmosphere via theoxygen outlet 101, after returning to the nonelectrolyte water tank 6.The oxygen gas may then be returned back into the atmosphere. Accordingto one or more other embodiments, the two gasses can optionally becombined for diesel engine vehicles or other internal combustion engineswithout oxygen sensors, if desired.

The electrical circuit can, for example, be provided by a controlcircuit 150 as illustrated in FIG. 7 for controlling the system 1. Thecontrol circuit 150 includes the OBD interface 97 in communication withthe vehicle OBD terminal 98 and the main power board 33. The vehiclebattery 94 is connected with the power terminals 36 and 37 at the mainpower board 33. The control circuit 150 further includes a communicationmodule 104 equipped with a global positioning system (GPS). According toone or more embodiments, the communication module 104 is a wirelessmodule for wirelessly transmitting vehicle information via the OBDinterface 97. The OBD interface 97 is configured to receive at least oneor more data output of the OBD terminal 98, such as rotational speed(RPM) information, speed information, gas usage information, etc. Whenit is detected that the vehicle 90 is running, the OBD interface 97sends a signal via the wire 96 b to the main control board 33 to operatethe system 1. For example, when the rotational speed of the engine 92exceeds a predetermined level, a positive output is sent to the mainpower board 33, thereby causing the electrolyzer 5 to operate when theengine 92 is running.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, thehydrogen gas is generated based on the vehicle speed or a predeterminedRPM of the engine or a combination of other outputs from the OBDterminal 98 such that the electrolyzer 5 is activated to generatehydrogen gas.

According to one or more embodiments, the RPMs of the engine 92 have adirect relationship to the efficiency of the engine 92 and to theeffectiveness of the hydrogen being introduced to the combustion chamber102. When the engine 92 is at idle, it is highly inefficient therefore,according to embodiments of the present invention, the amount ofhydrogen gas produced within the electrolyzer 5 during this period isincreased.

Since the system 1 monitors the RPMs of the engine 92 via the OBDterminal 98 to determine the amount of voltage to place across theelectrolyzer 5 and thus the amount of hydrogen produced, the system 1 iscapable of maximizing efficiency depending upon the determined RPMs ofthe engine 92.

Other components of the system 1 are also connected with the main powerboard 33 via wires 105. The other components include the electrolyzer 5,the water level sensor 32, a heater 106, and a temperature sensor 107.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the OBDinterface 97 is in communication with a database 109 (e.g., a web-baseddatabase), via the communication module 104, for receiving vehicleinformation and system information including status information. Thestatus information may include, for example, water level informationfrom the water level sensor 32 and temperature sensor information fromthe temperature sensor 107. The database 109 may further storehistorical data collected over time to be used to control operation orregulate maintenance of the system 1. For example, necessary re-fillingof the nonelectrolyte water tank 6 may be determined based on the statusinformation of the water level within the nonelectrolyte water tank 6.

FIG. 8 shows the power cycle of a combustion chamber 102 for a dieselengine 92 whereby the engine 92 uses compression to ignite the fuel.During the power cycle, a combustion flame F ignites the fuel and airmixture that has been injected into the combustion chamber 102. Fordiesel engines, the combustion flame F is initiated by compression ofthe air/fuel mixture. In gasoline engines, the flame F is initiated by aspark plug. As can be seen in the illustration, inherent in all dieseland internal combustion engines, the combustion flame F does not consume100% of the fuel injected into the cylinder therefore a portion of thefuel is not burned during the power cycle. This is normal for all dieseland internal combustion engines in all stages of operations, but it isparticularly problematic when the engine is at idle. Unburned fuelF_(unburned) not consumed by the combustion flame F is the cause of theformation of particulate matter and other emissions and is the directresult of incomplete combustion. As can be seen in this illustration,the exhaust contains 100% of the unburned fuel and particulates.

FIG. 9 shows the power cycle of the combustion chamber 102 for a dieselengine whereby the engine uses compression to ignite the fuel. Thehydrogen gas H₂ (as labeled) travels into the combustion chamber 102 ofthe engine 92 via the air intake 100 of the engine and assists with thecombustion of fuel therein by increasing the flame speed of thehydrocarbon based fuel, in this case diesel fuel. Since hydrogen H₂increases the laminar flame speed of the diesel fuel causing it to burnat a faster rate the combustion, flame F (as labeled) consumes a largerpercentage of the fuel in the combustion chamber 102 and more fuel isburned because of the presence of the hydrogen H₂ prior to beingexhausted from the combustion chamber 102. The combusted fuel and asmaller amount of the unburned fuel is then released through an exhaust103. Since the combustion was more complete because of the presence ofthe H₂ gas, the amount of particulate matter (and other unburnedhydrocarbons) exiting the combustion chamber 102 and entering theexhaust 103 is greatly reduced. In some cases as much as 50%-90% (ormore) of the unburned fuel that would normally reach the exhaust isburned in the combustion chamber instead, thus greatly lowering theparticulate emissions. Other emissions such as carbon monoxide andnitrogen oxides are also reduced because of the more complete combustionof the fuel. In this embodiment, an optional diesel particulate filteris employed to reduce the particulate emissions going into theenvironment even further.

A method of controlling the production of hydrogen within the systemwill now be described below with reference to FIG. 10.

According to the method 1000 of the present invention, at operation1001, detecting, by an OBD interface 97 in communication with a vehicleOBD terminal 98, operation of the internal combustion engine 92 and aRPM level of the internal combustion engine 92. From operation 1001, theprocess continues to operation 1002, by supplying, by a power supply,electrical power in the form of a voltage to the electrolyzer 5 upondetecting that the internal combustion engine is in operation and basedon the detected RPM level. From operation 1002, the process continues tooperation 1003, by producing, by the electrolyzer 5 when supplied withthe electrical power, hydrogen gas based on the detected RPM level.

Further at operation 1003, when at higher RPMs, the voltage across theelectrolyzer 5 is adjusted to decrease or increase depending upon engineload and/or engine type, the amount of hydrogen being produced.Alternatively, when at lower RPMs, such as idling conditions, thevoltage across the electrolyzer 5 is adjusted to increase the amount ofhydrogen being produced or decrease depending upon engine load and/orengine type. Therefore, the variable amount of hydrogen can beaccommodated by adjusting the voltage on the electrolyzer 5. Idling canoccur between 500 and 1000 RPM depending upon the engine load and/orengine type or class.

FIG. 11 is a screenshot of a software table providing voltage-to-RPMinformation in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentinvention. The voltage-to-RPM information as shown in the software table1100 is pre-programmable and adjustable as needed. As mentioned above,the voltage across the electrolyzer 5 is adjusted to increase the amountof hydrogen being produced or decreased depending upon engine loadand/or engine type, when at lower RPMs.

Further, when at higher RPMs, the voltage across the electrolyzer 5 isadjusted to decrease or increase depending upon engine load and/orengine type. As shown in the software table 1100, voltage settings maybe established in accordance with RPM levels, as desired (see arrow1102). For example, at 500 RPMs, the voltage level may be set to 9, andfor 1000 RPMs, the voltage may be set to 12.The present invention is notlimited to any particular ranges or settings for RPM levels and voltagelevels, and may vary as necessary. Additional vehicle information isalso displayed on the software table 1100 including, for example,temperature information, battery information and water levelinformation. However, the present invention is not limited hereto andmay vary to include other information not displayed on the softwaretable 1100.

While the invention has been described in terms of its preferredembodiments, it should be understood that numerous modifications may bemade thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. It is intended that all such modifications fall within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable hydrogen supplemental system forsupplying hydrogen gas to an internal combustion engine comprising: ahousing unit; an electrolyzer mounted inside the housing unit thatseparates nonelectrolyte water into hydrogen and oxygen gas in responseto electrical power; a nonelectrolyte water tank mounted inside thehousing unit and positioned to supply nonelectrolyte water to theelectrolyzer; a power supply for supplying the electrical power in theform of a voltage to the electrolyzer; and an onboard diagnosticinterface for interfacing with an onboard diagnostic terminal of avehicle or engine, for detecting operation of the internal combustionengine and an RPM level of the internal combustion engine; wherein theonboard diagnostic interface forms an electrical circuit for adjustingthe voltage across the electrolyzer to thereby adjust the amount ofhydrogen to be produced therein.
 2. A hydrogen portable system accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a hydrogen gas collector for collectingthe hydrogen gas from the electrolyzer, wherein the electrolyzer, whensupplied with electrical power produces the hydrogen and oxygen gasesfrom the nonelectrolyte water being supplied from the nonelectrolytewater tank via a supply line connected thereto, and supplies thehydrogen gas being produced, via the hydrogen gas collector, to theinternal combustion engine for combustion therein, wherein theelectrolyzer is disposed external of the nonelectrolyte water tank,wherein the oxygen gas supplied from the electrolyzer travels backthrough the supply line and is vented to an atmosphere; wherein saidelectrolyzer comprises: a plurality of layers, said layers beingnon-liquid and each layer being in adjacent contact with another one ofsaid layers, wherein the plurality of layers includes at least twoexternal layers and an internal layer which is disposed in adjacentcontact between the external layers, wherein a first external layer isconnected to a positive terminal of the power supply and as such appliesthe positive side of the voltage to a first side of the internal layer,and a second external layer is connected to a negative terminal of thepower supply and as such applies the negative side of the voltage to asecond side of the internal layer, said first and second sides being onopposite sides of the internal layer, and wherein when the voltage isapplied across the first external layer, the internal layer and thesecond external layer, the electrolyzer separates the nonelectrolytewater into oxygen gas which is output on the first side of the internallayer and hydrogen gas which is output on the second side of theinternal layer.
 3. A portable hydrogen supplemental system according toclaim 2, wherein the hydrogen gas collector comprises: a hydrogen gascollector portion for receiving the hydrogen gas and an amount of thenonelectrolyte water mixed with the hydrogen gas, from the electrolyzer,therein; and a valve disposed in communication with the hydrogencollection portion, for receiving the nonelectrolyte water therein to bereturned to the nonelectrolyte water tank.
 4. A portable hydrogensupplemental system according to claim 1, wherein the onboard diagnosticinterface is in communication with the engine via the onboard diagnosticterminal and in communication with the power supply of the system, andcontrols power to be supplied to the power supply, wherein when thevoltage across the electrolyzer is increased when the RPM level is belowa certain RPM depending upon at least one of the engine load and classand decreased with the RPM level is above a certain RPM depending uponat least one of the engine load and/or type and class.
 5. A portablehydrogen supplemental system according to claim 5, further comprises: acommunication module for transmitting vehicle information and engineinformation via the onboard diagnostic terminal to the power supply viaa communication network.
 6. A portable hydrogen supplemental systemaccording to claim 5, wherein the communication module is a wirelessmodule for wirelessly receiving and transmitting vehicle information andengine information.
 7. A portable hydrogen supplemental system accordingto claim 6, wherein the onboard diagnostic interface is furtherconfigured to receive at least one of rotational speed information,speed information, or gas usage information.
 8. A method of controllinga production of hydrogen gas within a hydrogen supplemental system to besupplied to an internal combustion engine comprising: detecting, by anonboard diagnostic interface in communication with a vehicle or engineonboard diagnostic terminal, operation of the internal combustion engineand a RPM level of the internal combustion engine; supplying, by a powersupply, electrical power in the form of a voltage to an electrolyzer orother hydrogen producing system upon detecting that the internalcombustion engine is in operation and based on the detected RPM level;and producing, by the electrolyzer or other hydrogen producing systemwhen supplied with the electrical power, hydrogen gas based on thedetected RPM level.
 9. The method according to claim 8, supplying, froma nonelectrolyte water tank mounted inside the housing unit,nonelectrolyte water to the electrolyzer; supplying, via a hydrogen gascollector, the hydrogen gas being produced to the internal combustionengine for combustion therein, wherein the electrolyzer, when suppliedwith electrical power produces the hydrogen and oxygen gases from thenonelectrolyte water being supplied from the nonelectrolyte water tankvia a supply line connected thereto, and supplies the hydrogen gas beingproduced, via the hydrogen gas collector, to the internal combustionengine for combustion therein.
 10. The method according to claim 8,wherein the electrolyzer is disposed external of the nonelectrolytewater tank, wherein the oxygen gas supplied from the electrolyzertravels back through the supply line and is vented to an atmosphere;wherein said electrolyzer comprises: a plurality of layers, said layersbeing non-liquid and each layer being in adjacent contact with anotherone of said layers, wherein the plurality of layers includes at leasttwo external layers and an internal layer which is disposed in adjacentcontact between the external layers, wherein a first external layer isconnected to a positive terminal of the power supply and as such appliesthe positive side of the voltage to a first side of the internal layer,and a second external layer is connected to a negative terminal of thepower supply and as such applies the negative side of the voltage to asecond side of the internal layer, said first and second sides being onopposite sides of the internal layer, and wherein when the voltage isapplied across the first external layer, the internal layer and thesecond external layer, the electrolyzer separates the nonelectrolytewater into oxygen gas which is output on the first side of the internallayer and hydrogen gas which is output on the second side of theinternal layer.
 11. A method according to claim 10, further comprises:supplying the nonelectrolyte water via a water container disposed abovethe nonelectrolyte water.
 12. A method according to claim 9, controllingpower in the form of voltage to be supplied to the power supply, whereinincreasing the voltage across the electrolyzer when the RPM level isbelow a certain level depending on at least one of the engine loadand/or type and class, and decreasing the voltage across theelectrolyzer with the RPM level is above a certain level depending on atleast one of the engine load and/or type and class.
 13. A methodaccording to claim 12, further comprises: transmitting vehicleinformation and engine information via a communication module via theonboard diagnostic interface to the power supply via a communicationnetwork.
 14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the onboarddiagnostic interface is further configured to receive at least one ofrotational speed information, speed information, or gas usageinformation.